BCCI's Clear Mandate On Rohit Sharma And His Future With A Year To Go For World Cup 2027
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday quashed speculation regarding veteran opener Rohit Sharma's ODI future
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday quashed speculation regarding veteran opener Rohit Sharma's ODI future, insisting his form remains top-class following a high-level performance review meeting conducted at its headquarters in Mumbai. BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia clarified that the former captain's spot remains secure after the board convened to analyse recent overseas tours and map out strategies leading up to the 2027 ODI World Cup.
India's T20I captain Shreyas Iyer, Test and ODI skipper Shubman Gill, head coach Gautam Gambhir, and Centre of Excellence (CoE) head VVS Laxman attended the crucial review meeting. They were joined by top BCCI officials: President Mithun Manhas, Secretary Devajit Saikia, Joint Secretary Prabhtej Singh Bhatia, and interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hemang Amin.
The long-pending review meeting was initially supposed to take place in July to address India's T20I series defeats in England and Ireland, along with the ODI series loss to England. However, it was pushed back and finally took place on Thursday due to India's T20I tour of Zimbabwe and Test tour of Sri Lanka, where they won 3-0 and 1-0, respectively.
"He is playing superbly in all matches. So what more do you want? In the last match, he scored 138-148 runs. So why is there speculation? I do not want to give fodder to the speculators," Saikia told reporters at the conclusion of the meeting.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar was unable to attend the important meeting due to short notice and connectivity constraints while being away from Mumbai.
"Today, we did not have any selection meeting. We had a routine meeting, like we do every 2-3 months. We had a meeting today with the head coach, the CoE head of cricket, as well as two of the captains, T20I skipper Shreyas and the Test and ODI captain, Shubman.
"Today, he (Agarkar) was out of station, so he could not be a part of the meeting. Because this meeting was called at very short notice and our head of the selection committee, Ajit Agarkar, was not in town, he could not join it. He was in an area where he could not join online either, despite our best efforts," added Saikia.
The review focused heavily on addressing setbacks on tours of England and Ireland, as the senior men's team prepares for a grueling upcoming schedule that includes T20Is against Afghanistan, white-ball matches against the West Indies, the Asian Games T20 trip to Japan, a multi-format tour of New Zealand, ODIs against Zimbabwe, and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at home, before the 2027 Men's ODI World Cup takes centre stage.
"So, we had discussions and basically discussed how our team performed in England and Ireland. We also discussed what we are going to do over the next year. A roadmap has been prepared, and we will undertake some exercises so that we can perform very well in the 2027 World Cup.
"Yes, we did not do well. You all know that we lost matches in Ireland and also in England. We lost those T20I and ODI series 2-1. So we wanted to know the reasons, and we have to do some soul-searching about that. We have also chalked out certain strategies for the future before touring any of the SENA countries," added Saikia.
He also dismissed rumours regarding Agarkar's tenure ending, changes to the senior men's selection committee, and the appointment of a director of cricket for the men's setup.
"There was no such discussion on this in today's meeting. I do not comment on new rumours. We did not have any such discussions, nor do we have any such intentions."
"There was no discussion on the selection committee. Our whole focus was on performances in England and Ireland, as well as the recent Test series in Sri Lanka, and what we are going to do in the upcoming series before the ODI World Cup, which is our ultimate goal. We have basically discussed our way forward regarding team preparations because we have a busy schedule ahead."
"We have not discussed team selection, team combination, or who will be playing in which format. For that, the selectors will take a call. Today, the selectors were not part of the discussion. So when the selectors meet to pick the team for the West Indies series and thereafter for the New Zealand series, they will consider whatever parameters they deem necessary," concluded Saikia.
India Cricket Team
Rohit Sharma